Don Finley: Cervical cancer vaccine

Controversy over the HPV vaccine for cervical cancer is going to continue, it seems. Last week, Gov. Rick Perry signed an executive order making Texas the first state to require the vaccine, which is targeted to middle school girls, for school entry. School officials I spoke to on Monday were nervously awaiting more information on how the program would be implemented, and who would pay for it. Meanwhile, the issue continued to bang around in political circles.

Perhaps lost in all the recent chatter is that a vaccine for any form of cancer is a big deal. And the history of how this particular vaccine came about is pretty interesting. Here’s an account from the University of Rochester on how their scientists collected cow warts and sought volunteers among the clergy to come up with the vaccine formula.